rio playa blanca is a five-star all-inclusive resort the hotel is located on the pacific
coast of panama five kilometers from rio hato airport and 150 kilometers from panama city
check-in was quick and easy and the employees at the lobby were very friendly and helpful
the huge lobby offers a beautiful lounge area with plenty of seating to relax
the lobby bar is open 24 hours and offers in my opinion the best cappuccinos on the resort
our fourth floor room was spacious and had a modernized bathroom
the room had a safety box and small refrigerator stocked with soft drinks and a few beers
there was also a mini bar but it was left empty for the duration of our stay even after
having asked for it to be replenished our room offered gorgeous ocean pool and garden views
because of the hotel's architecture many of the rooms offer some form of ocean view
there are three à la carte restaurants and a main buffet on the premises
we did experience some issues at the outdoor section of the main buffet
one morning a gardener ran a hose right through the tables in the eating area
we also repeatedly noticed that many tables and chairs had bird droppings on them
food offerings are always plentiful no matter what time you choose to go to the buffet
most of the time service is quick and efficient
oftentimes social distancing is not practiced by many of the patrons in buffet lineups
although food is abundant we found that it lacked in flavor in our opinion most
of the cooked options were much too salty oily and more often than not overcooked
most of the staff at the resort were courteous and friendly you're probably going to tell me
that english isn't always spoken or understood by some of the waiting staff in the restaurants
to that i will remind you that you're in a spanish-speaking country not an english one
there are four pools on the resort the children's pool
the activities pool
the general pool
and the adult only swim up bar pool
the resort is spacious and well designed we never had to wait very long for food or drink
nightly entertainment mainly consists of a variety of lip sync and dancing shows
since we were there during a holiday the resort went all out and treated us to a huge beach party
they had set up a few bars live entertainment a disc jockey and a display of fireworks
the pool and beach areas offer an extensive selection of beach chairs
set your alarm clock early in order to watch breathtaking sunrises
if you're more of a late sleeper you can still catch amazing sunsets
the beach is composed of light gray sand mixed with patches of beautiful gleaming black sand
being public the beach is somewhat unkempt watch
out for horse droppings as well as frequent horse motocross and atv traffic on the beach
due to its proximity to the mouth of the hato river at low tide the
beach is littered with a combination of small rocks seashell and debris
during peak sun hours the sand becomes excruciatingly hot
make sure to wear water shoes when going for a walk or a swim
if you've been to this hotel or if you're planning a trip there and have any questions
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